Langston cracks jokes now. I mean, I suppose he always has, but these recent jokes are surprising, and original, in his special Langston way. Every day, at day care, they begin meals with a "Bon Appetit, it's time to eat."  And while I'm not sure if they regularly cue friends with a "1-2-3..." beforehand to recite this in unison, I was told by one of L.'s teachers recently that after she jokingly inserted "Pickle!" instead of the usual chorus of "Bon Appetit," Langston divined his own invention, "1....2....3....SAND CASTLE!" he announced one day, riffing in his own way on the pickle joke.

Another time, Langston made some comment about diapers, that I didn't quite make out initially. I was surprised to hear him mention diapers, as he hasn't worn them in ages. "Whaaat?" I intoned, a la, "Say WHAAAT?" minus the "say" part. Now, Langston repeats the the scene, complete with my incredulous, "Whaaaat?" and he bows in laughter, over and over, until I declare that our enjoyment of the bit must, sadly, be all done.

His expressions of love have also increased. He loves greeting people, hugging them firmly, and has more and more frequent reminders: "I love you, Mommy."  Apparently the other day he told a little girl in his preschool class, "Love you?" and she told the teacher right away, astonished, "He just said he LOVES ME!"

Oh, Langston.